


The End

by skypirateb



Category: Greek and Roman Mythology
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-02-16
Updated: 2012-02-16
Packaged: 2017-10-31 07:54:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,278
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/341740
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/skypirateb/pseuds/skypirateb
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After several thousand years, Persephone re-evaluates her choices.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The End

Persephone paced the floor back and forth before the unlit fireplace. Her husband sat just a few feet away, the picture of composure. But she knew better. His eyes gave him away; they always did. He had moved far beyond the nervous, unsettled stage of anxiety and had arrived at one of serene apprehension. 

It was a scene all too familiar to them. Spring was coming. Soon, this day, before midday, Hermes would arrive ready to escort Persephone back to Olympus. She would go or face the wrath of her parents. They had never been united as one force, but one did not simply disobey a direct order from Zeus.

Persephone went to bite her nails, but there was nothing to chew. She bit the soft flesh on the side of her nails instead.

She loved Olympus, she truly did, with all her heart. She loved the long, hot summer days and the short warm nights. She loved the fresh breeze on her skin as she slept. She loved basking in the blazing sun with her friends by the pool. She loved staying up partying until sunrise and sleeping until the afternoon. It held a prominent place in her heart: there she was surrounded by a tight knit group of family and friends, there she was never afraid of being lonely. It was her first home.

She had been doing this for thousands of years. She had learnt to accept that wherever she was, she was always going to feel that dull ache in her chest that comes from being away from places and people you love.

Yet something had started to change. Being taken from home was always hard, and in the beginning she had always been so reluctant to leave Olympus. She would go over and over the city, memorising every tree, every leaf, every turn of pavement and every sweeping column. She loved Hades with all of her heart, she loved to be with him, but there was always one last hug from her mother to be snatched before she departed. Some nights she would lie half-awake wrapped in remembrances and dreams of her summers.

Somewhere in the course of the years, though, she found herself lying awake in the summer and thinking about her husband. About his— _their_ —vast dark kingdom, about their quiet evenings curled up by the fire, about how they teased and mocked each other like flirting teenagers. She remembered how he embraced her, how he kissed her, how he made the heat rush through her veins and made her half-mad with pleasure and love for him. When she could bear it no longer she slipped from Olympus unnoticed and back into his bed. For a long time these brief, clandestine meetings on the hardest days of summer had been enough.

They were no longer enough. She missed Olympus less and less; she found it easier and easier each year to leave. One day she realised with a pang she was thinking of it as her _childhood_ home: a place she had grown-up, a place that had shaped her, a place she would always love—but not a place she belonged. Not anymore. 

She had thought that she would never truly grow-up. She thought she would be like Dionysus or Apollo, firmly set in young adulthood for eternity. At most, she would have one foot in both worlds, never truly settled or satisfied in one or the other.

It might have been true once, but that was no longer the case. The first few weeks on Olympus would always be fast and fun, but it didn't take long for a restlessness to set in. She realised it was becoming a holiday home, somewhere she went to hide from her responsibilities a little while but not somewhere she could live permanently. 

Persephone had always said she would never choose between Olympus and the Underworld. They held equal places in her heart. They still did. It was just now, choosing no longer seemed so impossible. 

The tang of ichor touched her tongue. She stopped biting her finger. 

Tentatively, she perched on the edge of the couch. Hades shifted slightly and looked over to her.

"What are you thinking?" His voice was hoarse.

Persephone took a deep breath. "That I want... to stay."

Hades stared at her, hardly daring to speak or move. "Stay?" The word was barely a whisper, as if by voicing it he feared her feelings would evaporate like spring dew.

"Stay." She turned to him, looking into his cool blue eyes. "And not... not have to leave." She swallowed. "Ever."

His expression stayed as solid and unflinching as granite; his eyes belied his composure. He sat forwards, taking her hand. "You must go."

"No," she said, her resolve taking root deep in her breast. "I don't ever want to leave you again."

"You need the sun."

" _You_ are my sun." She nearly cringed with how tired the cliche sounded. "I mean, Apollo's always talking about how the sun is a symbol, right? It represents life and hope and the future. But to me, all of those things are here, with you. I should... I never should have agreed to this... double life." She looked down at their hands and rubbed her thumb gently over his knuckles. "I know better than anyone that everything changes—I mean, my _domain_ is all about change—but for some reason everyone thought it'd be better if I was stuck in limbo. I don't..." She paused, organising her thoughts. "I don't want to be that person anymore. I want to retire from looking after the seasons." She looked up into his eyes again. "I want to be at peace."

"Your mother will bring about an ice age."

"Let her. She will only strengthen Elysium."

"Who could replace you?"

"Despoina."

"Des—Persephone..."

"People are always confusing her for me anyway," she shrugged. "The point is, they _can_ replace me. _You_ can't."

Hades' grip on her hand tightened. "I don't want to lose what makes you who you are. You bring so much light and life with you and that... it will die if you stay."

Persephone smiled slightly. "Only because I love you."

"Wh... What?"

"That's why I'm so happy here. It's why nothing will really change. Because I won't ever stop loving you, and that has nothing to do with going back to Olympus. You _are_ my life." His incredulous look made her smile more. "This is where I'm supposed to be now. This is where my life is. I don't belong on Olympus anymore. I belong here."

For a moment Hades looked as though he had forgotten how to breathe. Then he leant fowards, tangled his fingers in her hair, and kissed her soundly.

Persephone pulled him closer, easily matching his passion and fervor. They shifted; she slipped down so he was practically on top of her, his hand rested firmly on her waist. He was just starting to move his hand along her thigh when there was a knock on the door.

They pulled apart with a slight gasp and sat up, their cheeks flushed.

"Come in," Hades ordered. A servant entered and gave the signal that Hermes had arrived. "Ah," Hades said. "Yes, of course. Inform him that we will be there directly."

When the door closed with a click he looked back at Persephone. "Are you sure you want to do this?"

Persephone looked back, grinning. "Yes. Without the slightest hint of doubt."

Hades' flush deepened, and he kissed her forehead. "Come, then." He took her hand and they stood together, determined to face anything that came against them as one.


End file.
